Yum Cha in Hobart: Castle Zayee

One thing I’ve missed since temporarily being back in Hobart is the availability of Chinese yum cha (or dim sum). We’re not exactly spoilt for choice here in this little town.

The only restaurant that came to mind was Sandy Bay’s Me Wahand I wanted to look for other options.After a quick Google search, I found a few TripAdvisor reviewers mention that the yum cha selection at Hobart’s Castle Zayee was superior to Me Wah in both quality and price. And it’s just down the road from my house! Sold.

This quirky little establishment is a medieval-style mini castle that stands on Creek Road in Lenah Valley, complete with pool tables, a jukebox, and a full suit of shining armour in one corner. An unfamiliar environment for a Chinese restaurant, yes, but once inside, the smell from the Castle Zayee kitchen is unmistakably familiar.

From 12pm to 3pm every day (except Tuesdays), Castle Zayee‘s kitchen serves piping hot and fresh yum cha items from a pretty extensive menu, with most dishes priced at under $6.00.

I arrived with Mr Q and two of my cousins and ordered randomly from the menu:

Pork & prawn potsticker dumplings

Peking duck pancakes with hoi sin sauce

Siu Mai

Seafood rolls

Sticky rice

Octopus

Har gow (my absolute favourite!)

Deep fried pork balls

Deep fried pork & prawn dumplings

These photos are from my second visit to Castle Zayee, as during my first visit I was so overwhelmed that I forgot to get my camera out! I was pretty impressed that we had all this food (there were three servings of har gow prawn dumplings, and an additional serve of siu mai) and had drinks for under $22.00 each.

Excellent value, friendly hosts and a nice local spot – for great Hobart yum cha, Castle Zayee is certainly a pretty good option. I’ll absolutely be back!